Centering English in Bilingual Preschool Education: Parents’ Beliefs and Agency

This study examines how English is positioned and perceived within English-Spanish bilingual preschool\r\neducation in Paraguay, a country traditionally characterised by institutional bilingualism in Spanish and Guaraní.\r\nWhile not an official language, English is increasingly viewed by parents as a tool for global access, academic\r\nachievement, and future professions. Using qualitative data from a questionnaire administered to 28 parents (from\r\n31 to 40 years of age) in two bilingual preschools in Asunción, the study explores parental beliefs about English\r\nand the forms of agency they enact to support their children's English exposure. Findings reveal that parents\r\nassociate English with cognitive development, intercultural competence, and social mobility. Many parents\r\nactively foster English exposure through home practices and participation in school activities, despite\r\nacknowledging limitations such as their own low proficiency in English or the absence of English use in extended\r\nfamily settings. English is often framed not only as a desirable language but as a form of symbolic capital that\r\ncomplements the official national languages. The study underscores how English is increasingly central to parental\r\nlanguage ideologies and early bilingual educational choices, raising important questions about linguistic\r\nhierarchies and additive trilingualism.